Chosen One
by MadeOfStars
Summary: One-shot, casefic action and fluff, vague P/O... No spoilers. It works as a just plain Finge fic, but Angel the series fans will see something more... Please R&R!


**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything you recognize here…

"_I walk with heroes. Think about that."_

"_You are one."_

"_Superhero. And this is my power: To not let them take me. Not me."_

"You breathed a powder? What powder?" His voice was loud, breathing ragged from running and from stress. He had turned the corner only moments after her, to see the suspect suddenly stop and face her, to see her start coughing, the choking bringing her to her knees.

"Don't let him get away," she whispered.

"Someone else can get him. I'm taking care of you. Tell me what you can about the powder," he said urgently. Other agents rushed past, trying to catch up with the suspect. One radioed for a medical team.

"Burns my eyes, no taste, kinda smells funny…" She trailed off, eyes closing, muscles melting into limp relaxation as Walter followed the surge of agents into the alleyway.

"Walter! Over here. He blew something into her face."

"Muscles atonic, losing consciousness. Could be a neurotoxin, a paralytic perhaps. Collect a sample, Peter," he exclaimed, fishing out a handkerchief and handing it to him.

Peter wiped some of the powder off her face, then brushed her hair back gently as the paramedics arrived. "It's going to be ok Olivia," he murmured as he stepped back.

"Have her taken back to the lab immediately," Walter declared. "We will meet you there."

"Do you think this could be the same drug that he used with the others," Peter asked apprehensively as they hurried back to the old wagon.

"We won't know until we can test it. Or she starts showing symptoms," he stated matter-of-factly.

*******

Peter dashed from the lot to the lab, leaving Walter trailing behind. He set up the mass spec and a tox screen using the powder sample he took from Olivia as Walter directed the paramedics. Walter then used the IV they started to give her a muscle relaxant, just in case the toxin was the same as the others. Three bodies had turned up over the last two weeks, all in varying stages of transformation, all dead, hardened into something almost unrecognizable. They had found that these three tested positive for recombinant DNA for the protein in turtle shells as well as growth hormone and tetrodotoxin, a paralytic that allowed the transformation to occur.

"Shouldn't we just give her the serum?"

"Peter, we cannot just give such medication indiscriminately. In the absence of the rDNA, that could jeopardize her very cellular structure," he exclaimed.

"Now you want to be careful with the drugs," he muttered, pacing the lab impatiently. He walked back to Olivia and took her hand in his. Still soft, relaxed, a good sign. He smoothed her hair again, murmuring platitudes to her.

The tox screen came back first. No common drugs but tetrodotoxin was present. The mass spectrometer took longer to render results and by the time it did, it was irrelevant. Her skin had started to stiffen, her muscles becoming rigid, joints locking. The process had started.

Walter had already begun work on a counteragent when they found the second body. He hung a bag of the mixture, the color of weak orange juice, from her IV line. Time to wait.

Astrid took Walter home around 11. They all knew that Walter grew irritable with little sleep and that he would become unfocused and distractible, qualities that would not be helpful. Before she left, she laid a gentle hand on Peter's shoulder, knowing he would be there all night to monitor Olivia.

"She'll be ok, Peter. She's tough."

"I know," he responded, resigned to waiting.

**********

The night passed slowly, with Peter alternately pacing, talking to her, and sitting in silence by her side. He frequently took her hand, telling himself he was simply checking the degree of rigor in the tissue. After some time, he simply held it. He told her how he never would have dreamed up anything as weird as these cases, would never have believed that he would stick around long enough to get so deeply involved. He talked to her about Walter, how fragile their relationship was, how it was to grow up essentially fatherless. He spoke of how he would never abandon his family, if he were ever to have one. He fell asleep that way, holding her hand, his head resting on the table.

**********

He woke to movement. Her hand, soft and supple, was still held in his. _It worked._ He flooded with relief. She gave a small, tired smile when she saw him, asking what happened.

"Well, aside from almost being turned into a turtle…" He sighed. "You were dosed but the concoction Walter came up with obviously worked. And before you ask, " he said, giving her an exasperated look, "he was apprehended. By your back-up. That you shouldn't have gone in without."

"As long as he was stopped," she breathed.

"Olivia, seriously. I don't get it sometimes. Why all the self-sacrifice? Who died and made you the Chosen One?" His only response was a puzzled look. "Really, you never saw that show?"

"What show?"

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Really, never? You know, the two of you have a lot in common… You are both blonde, you're fighting the end of the world. Sure, she fought demons, you fight evil science. Same difference. Come to think of it, Buffy had a little sister too. And," he said emphatically, "you are both self-sacrificing to a point. " He quirked a grin. "Buffy also had this thing for bad boy types…"

Olivia smiled in return and simply shook her head, waiting for him to speak again.

"So how are you feeling anyway?"

"Really relaxed. He gave me the muscle relaxers, right? Other than that, just tired."

"Well, you have been unconscious for the better part of 12 hours now."

She just smiled. She was paralyzed, yes, but aware. All senses functional. She knew better than to tell him that, though, at least not yet. Maybe later. "I think I could feel you holding my hand," she said. "It helped."

"Then rest," he replied, sitting beside her again and taking her hand. "I'll see you in the morning."

**********

**A/N**: I know there are lots of X-Files comparisons, but I haven't really seen any to Buffy or Angel. And I always wanted to save Fred… Hope you enjoyed this, as it was pretty fun to write… Please review and let me know what you think!


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